


Little Red Strings

by sapphirebluerubyredroses



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, Pining Nico di Angelo, Red String of Fate, not too early in the serious but can't remember exactly when I wrote this, only thing different is Nico being able to see the strings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 17:56:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21019880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphirebluerubyredroses/pseuds/sapphirebluerubyredroses
Summary: Nico had seen the little red thread for as long as he could remember, stretching out and away from him into the distance......Or where Nico can see the Red String of Fate that connects soulmates, and thinks on who his is tied to.





	Little Red Strings

**Author's Note:**

> This is from a prompt that I did on my Tumblr several years back that I neglected to bring over despite how much I love it. I tried not to change anything so that it's as close to the original as possible. There's a few words changed to make it easier to read. Grammatical things. So on. Nothing crazy. Enjoy!
> 
> Prompt from Anonymous: "Percico: red string of fate, but only nico can see the string."

Nico had seen the little red thread for as long as he could remember, stretching out and away from him into the distance. He could see all of them, the ones that stretched from every pinkie finger. Some of them crossed his own, but most did not. Most simply stretched away without a care in the world. Everyone had one, but not all of them were as bright as his own. His shined in the darkest of nights, lighting his path. Bianca’s had been dim, barely a glimmer, more of a rust brown than a bright scarlet. He hoped that in her next life, her string blazed brighter than the sun itself.

He’d never understood why he could see them. What use did a son of Hades have for seeing the lines that connected two people? A child of Aphrodite, Piper or some other child, would have had more use for such a gift, but maybe that’s why he was able to see them in the first place. Because he didn’t have a use for it. Maybe Aphrodite had a malicious streak.

When he was younger, and just noticing the strings like he’d just started noticing exactly how different he and Bianca were than others, he hadn’t realized what they’d meant. When Percy had arrived with his string leading right back to Nico, he’d been ecstatic, starstruck. Until he hadn’t been. Until Bianca had died. Until he’d been left alone and unable to look Percy in the face.

It was impossible to forget that his string led back to Percy though, especially when he’d discovered the meaning behind that thin red line that now dripped with blood and sorrow. Percy’s string tangled so completely with Annabeth’s, and he thought, maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe his string and Percy’s weren’t one in the same after all. Maybe his string led to someone who’d already been taken from the world, like Bianca, or someone who lived on the opposite side of the world that he’d never have the chance to meet.

He’d always known that was a lie though. His string led to Percy, and Percy had decided to make his own path. The Fates, or whatever deity tied those strings, didn’t always tie them tightly enough. Sometimes, someone slipped loose and tied their own string. Sometimes, he wondered if the other end of his string lay limp somewhere, being dragged through the muck and mud, it’s shine dimming until it was barely recognizable.

Despite that thought, the knowledge that Percy was tied to the other end of his string had pulled him through more situations that he would have liked to admit. It had been one of the few things that had kept him going through Tartaras. That sounded sappy even to his own ears, but it was the truth.

It was the truth just like it was the truth that Percy had slipped loose from his string and tied a new one to Annabeth.

…..

“Nico. Hey, Nico,” Will murmured quietly, rubbing circles into the back of his hand with his thumb in an attempt to get his attention. Blinking, Nico turned his eyes up to him. “Where’s your mind at? I thought you’d be happy. It’s been a while since we’ve gotten to see each other. More than a month now, I think.”

“I am happy. Just a little preoccupied. Sorry,” Nico told him, leaning into his shoulder as they walked towards the ocean shore.

Glancing down at their interlocked hands, Nico ran his pinkie over the string that was tangled up with his own in such a tight knot, it was a wonder there was even another side to it. Will’s string did not lead back to Nico. His string stretched off into the distance, tied around the pinkie of some boy or girl who was oblivious to the fact that they were connected to a wonderful person that would one day be theirs in every way possible.

Nico’s heart twisted in his chest, already cringing at the thought of another person leaving him. He couldn’t stop the grimace of pain that skirted across his face.

Will watched him, examining his face in the dying light of the sun. Pressing a kiss to the side of his head, he said, “That’s alright. You’ve been out on quests ever since the end of the Giants War. I can understand, even if I don’t agree with you being out all of the time.”

“Someone has to help bring those kids to camp safely.” He sighed, wrenching his eyes away from the string and staring out at where it disappeared on the horizon. Crossing oceans was a very long distance to stretch just to connect two people, but then again, he’d seen it stretch further. Leo and Calypso were one example of that, though there’s a strong possibility that they should be considered an outlier.

“You do a very good job of it, as well. Between you and Percy -when he’s around- you two have brought more kids here in half a year than I’ve seen brought in two years. You and Jackson make a good team when you’re actually getting along.” Will was quiet for a long moment. His voice dropped in volume, becoming a murmur again. “Just now, when you were looking at my fingers, what were you staring at? I see you do it a lot, more and more lately, like there’s something tied there that I can’t see.”

In that moment, it was as if Nico had been thrown into the Arctic Ocean. He didn’t look at people’s strings that often, did he? Even if he didn’t, that meant that Will was watching him closely enough to notice, and he wasn’t sure how that settled in his stomach.

Swallowing shallowly, he licked his lips, and started, “Do you know what the Red S-”

Someone, one of the children of Apollo, stumbled onto the sand, breathing harshly. “Will, we need you back at camp,” the girl panted, gripping her trembling knees.

“Why? What’s the matter? Did something happen?” Will asked, worry creasing his brow.

She turned terrified eyes up to them, whispering, “Percy Jackson was attacked while he was home. Annabeth and Grover only just got him back here. Ambrosia hasn’t done much. He’s bleeding a lot.”

“Percy,” Nico whispered, horror soaking into him. He darted away from the pair, following his string back to camp, through throngs of milling, muttering campers. He burst into Cabin Three, startling Annabeth, Grover, and the hoard of Apollo kids swarming around Percy’s bed. “Percy!” He pushed through the wall of bodies, Will slipping in behind him, and latched onto Percy’s wrist. The thread tied to his finger was dull. His soul was slipping from his body.

He stared up at Will. “Help him, please. I’ll only be able to hold his soul to his body for a little while. Please. Help him,” he whispered, tightening his fingers around Percy’s wrist and fingers, anchoring his soul to his body.

Annabeth and Will stared at him.

Exhaling a deep breath, Will nodded, turning to his siblings. “Get me something to wash my hands with, and something to disinfect the wounds. I need gauze and any cloth you can find to soak up the blood, lots of it. I need…” His orders faded into the background, becoming just more noise in an already noisy world.

Still watching him out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth stared at the deep gashes that sliced across Percy’s chest and another set that had cut into his abdomen. Her lip trembled, and she bit at it harshly.

Nico leaned over Percy, staring into his ashen face. “Percy, I know we haven’t been on that great of terms since the end of the war, we weren’t on that great of terms before the war -my fault, I know already- but that doesn’t mean you can go dying on us. We still need you. And I swear to Zeus, if you die, I will follow your miserable soul into the Underworld and drag you back kicking and screaming. Do you hear me? I’ve done it once before, and I can do it again.”

“I will help him, Seaweed Brain. I will follow him down into the Underworld and help him pull your sorry ass back to us. It would be best just to avoid the whole situation,” Annabeth told him sternly, pressing her lips to his forehead, “But Will won’t be able to do this all on his own, so you’re going to have to fight. I know you’re tired of fighting, but you’re going to just have to keep fighting. For everyone. That’s what you do best.”

Gently nudging Nico out of the way, Will set to work, his eyes focused only on saving the demigod before him.

…..

Hours later found Will slumped in a chair he’d pulled up beside Percy’s bed, Annabeth of his other side, their blonde hair mingling as they leaned against each other. They murmured softly in their sleep. The camp was quiet in the late hours of the night, but Nico was wide away, still anchoring Percy’s soul to his body.

His whole body trembled with the effort, his fingers clutched tight around Percy’s. It may have been the stress or it may have been the sleep deprivation, but when the words began to spill from his mouth, he couldn’t find the tap to stop them.

“Have you ever heard of the Red String of Fate, Percy? I wouldn’t see why you haven’t. It’s always mentioned everywhere; in books, movies, television shows.” He rubbed his thumb along Percy’s pinkie. “It’s this tiny insubstantial red string, much like a thread the Fates could just cut if they wished, but maybe they can’t touch this one because it’s not a part of Greek mythology. I like to imagine that it’s the only one they can’t touch with their scissors.

“In Japanese culture, it’s supposedly tied around your pinkie finger. In Chinese culture, it’s tied around your ankle. Well, this little red string connects you to your ‘destined lover’ or ‘soulmate’.” He sagged in his chair, rubbing a hand through his hair. “It can get tangled up with other people’s strings, but it always leads back to the same person. It will always lead back to the same person.

“Can you imagine it? Imagine a congested city. Imagine Time Square on New Years Eve. Every one of those people has a string leading to someone else. Imagine what that would look like, those thousands of red strings spiraling through the air, leading two people together. It’s amazing sometimes. The fact that everyone has someone out there waiting to find them, and all that connects them is this stupid red string.” He plucked dishearteningly at the string tied around his finger.

“Imagine how much it must hurt if you could see these threads, knew who you were destined for, but also knew that you’ve already royally screwed up that destiny. Imagine how much it must hurt to see that person happy beyond years with someone else. Can you imagine it? I can.”

He was silent, tracing his eyes over Percy’s drawn face. Some color had returned to his skin and his soul no long felt as if it were trying to rip itself from Percy’s body, but the worry was still there, simmering just below the surface. “You know, I was lying when I said that you weren’t my type.” He laughed forlornly, turning his eyes to Will. “It always seems like I’m lying to you about something. Not only you though, Will too. It hurts knowing that one day he’ll find that person who is on the other side of his string, but I also know it’ll be better for him. I wish I couldn’t see these strings, but maybe it’s just another curse of being a son of Hades, another reminder that we aren’t afforded happiness. Even though the other end is in my grasp, it’s forever out of my reach. It-”

Percy shifted under his hands, groaning quietly. Nico snapped his teeth together audibly, popping up from his chair to lean over him as his eyes fluttered open. “Nico? Gods, why do I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck?”

“You look like it too,” Nico told him, reaching to a side table for the bowl of water the other Apollo kids were constantly changing in order to keep it warm. He rung out a cloth, patting gently at Percy’s forehead and the blood that had welled around his stitches. “Don’t move too much. I don’t know how many stitches Will put in you, but it’s a lot.”

Nodding, Percy resolutely squinted at the ceiling, tapping his fingers against the bed. “Were you talking to me while I was passed out?” he asked suddenly, eyes flickering to Nico where he’d settled back into his chair.

Clenching his fists in his lap to keep them from shaking, he nodded.

Percy nodded also, turning his eyes back to the ceiling. “I could hear you, all the way in the pitch black, wherever I was. You were talking about the Red String of Fate and how its tied to our pinkies and how… how you can see them.”

Nico remained silent, staring at Will again. His heart clenched. Why had he told Percy all of that? Even passed out, it had always been his secret, hidden away from even his sisters, and now it wasn’t. Now Percy knew, and he wouldn’t be able to hide any longer.

“Am I on the other end of your string, Nico?” he asked, blunt, but soft and gentle all at once.

He nodded again, and this time he couldn’t look at anything or anyone. He stared out the window at the stars mocking him from the sky.

“I guess I knew that. I guess I’ve known that for a while now, even without the whole thing about the strings to go off of.” Nico peaked over at him, at the frown turning down his lips, at the slight pain that showed in his furrowed brow. Percy continued, not even glancing over at him, “I would just get so irritated whenever I saw you with Solace, and for no reason. Will is a good guy, I like him, except when the two of you are together. I didn’t really get why, so I just stayed away from Camp, that and school has been really hard lately.” He laughed, and then groaned loudly.

“If you pop a stitch because you were laughing at yourself, Will is not going to be the happiest camper anymore,” Nico warned, trying to contain the elation that rose in his soul at Percy’s words, to keep it from his face. He was almost positive he had failed miserably.

“He’ll be even angrier if I pop a stitch doing something unseemly, and so will Annabeth.” He laughed at himself again, groaning a little more loudly this time. “Tartarus, that really does hurt like hell.”

Nico frowned. “You do have over a hundred plus stitches keeping your wounds pulled together,” he pointed out, “And what do you mean by unseemly?”

“Unseemly as in seeing how far all this Red String of Fate business goes…” He paused, watching Nico’s face color, before continuing, “But I’m not that kind of person. I’m a relatively good person. At least, I’d like to think I am most days.”

“You’re one of the best people I know,” Nico muttered, staring away from him, “Next to Hazel, Will, and Reyna that is.”

“I can’t argue with that.” They were silent for a long moment, long enough that Nico had begun to finally slip off to sleep as the sun started to brighten the sky outside. Percy’s voice snapped him back to attention though, as he asked, “So, about me actually being your type…” He trailed off, grinning over at him.

Nico scowled, his face going pink once more. “Don’t make me cut open your stitches myself, Jackson. I may have helped save you, but I can sure as Hades help send you to the Underworld just as well.”

Percy moaned helplessly as his laughter shuddered through his body again.


End file.
